398 PREHISTORIC TEXTILE FABRICS. 



details are more distinctly shown than in the specimens themselves, 1 

 believe that nothing is presented that cannot with ease be seen in the 

 originals. Alongside of these restorations I have placed illustrations of 

 fabrics from other primitive sources. 



There appears to be a pretty general impression that baskets of the 

 ordinary rigid character have been extensively used by oar ancient 

 peoples in the manufacture of pottery to build the vessel in or upon ; 

 but my investigations tend to show that such is not the case, and that 

 nets or sacks of pliable materials have been almost exclusively employed. 

 These have been applied to the surface of the vessel, sometimes covering 

 the exterior entirely, and at others only the body or a part of the body. 

 The interior surface is sometimes partially decorated in the same man 

 ner. 



The nets or other fabrics used have generally been removed before the 

 vessel was burned or even dried. Professor Wyman, in speaking casu- 

 ally of the cord-marked pottery of Tennessee, says: 



" It seems incredible that even an Indian would be so prodigal of time 

 and labor as to make the necessary quantity of well-twisted cord or 

 I bread, and weave it into shape for the mere purpose of serving as a 

 mold which must be destroyed in making a single copy." 



This remark is, however, based upon a false assumption. The fact 

 that the net or fabric has generally been removed while the clay was 

 still soft being susceptible of easy proof. I have observed in many cases 

 that handles and ornaments have been added, and that impressed and in- 

 cised designs have been made in the soft clay after the removal of the 

 woven fabric ; besides this there would be no need of the support of a 

 net after the vessel had been fully finished and slightly hardened. Fur- 

 thermore, I have no doubt that these textilia were employed as much for 

 the. purpose of enhancing the appearance of the vessel as for supporting 

 it during the process of construction. I have observed, in relation to 

 this point, that in a number of cases, notably the great salt vessels of 

 Saline River, Illinois, the fabric has been applied after the vessel was 

 finished. I arrive at this conclusion from having noticed that the loose 

 threads of the net-like cover sag or festoon toward the rim as if ap- 

 plied to the inverted vessel, Fig. 82. If the net had been used to suspend 

 the vessel while building, the threads would necessarily have hung in the 

 opposite directiou. 



In support of the idea that ornament was a leading consideration in 

 the employment of these coarse fabrics, we have the well-known fact 

 that simple cord-markings, arranged to form patterns, have been em- 

 ployed by many peoples for embellishment alone. This was a common 

 practice of the ancient inhabitants of Great Britain, as shown by Jewett. 

 The accompanying cut (Fig. 60) is copied from his work. ' 



It is a remarkable fact that verv few entire cord-marked vessels have 



1 Jewett, Llewellynn : Grave mounds and their contents, p. 92. 



